MaRS Partners with ORION to Multicast XVI International AIDS Conference to Global Research Networks

Toronto, August 11, 2006 — MaRS Discovery District is partnering with Ontario’s ORION network to deploy the latest in advanced Internet technologies to multicast proceedings of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto, to the global grid of high-speed research networks.

MaRS and the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION) are collaborating to multicast live broadcast feeds of conference sessions and related events taking place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and other locations, via MaRS Collaboration Centre’s state-of-the-art broadcast facilities in downtown Toronto.

The multicast feed will also be available at very high bandwidth to institutions on the global R&E network grid, as well as over 70 ORION institutions in Ontario, including universities, colleges, teaching hospitals, research facilities and several school boards.

Multicast technology allows many thousands of viewers to view a signal, such as live video, from a single point of transmission.

While the conference is being webcast through the standard Internet, ORION and MaRS are providing unique access to global research networks at ultra high-speeds.

“This is an opportunity to test and showcase the ORION network’s capabilities,” says ORION Director of Public Affairs, Andre Quenneville. “Multicast is fully enabled throughout the ORION network and we’re among the few research and education networks in the world that offers this type of technology,” he said.

Robert Smith, MaRS Chief Technology Consultant states, “partnering with ORION allows MaRS to provide the global research community with unprecedented access to the sessions taking place in Toronto using high quality, broadband broadcast technologies.”

The MaRS Centre, which joined the ORION network in 2005, was recently declared winner of the Intelligent Building of the Year at the annual Intelligent Community of the Year Awards in New York City, June 9, 2006.

The live feed can be viewed, starting Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006 at 4:00 pm with the opening media conference.

View it on the MaRS web site, at www.marsdd.com/aidsconference2006/webcast/

The program of activities to be transmitted live over ORION can be viewed at www.marsdd.com/aidsconference2006/programguide/

About ORION

The Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION), operated by a not-for-profit organization, is Ontario’s next-generation, ultra high-speed research and education telecommunications network. ORION connects all of Ontario’s universities, most colleges, several medical and other public research facilities and a growing number of school boards to one another and to the global grid of research and education networks. Visit www.orion.on.ca.

MaRS Discovery District (www.marsdd.com) is a large scale, mission driven innovation centre located in Toronto and networked across Ontario, focused on building Canada’s next generation of technology companies. MaRS works closely with entrepreneurs to grow and scale their ventures into global market leaders in life sciences and health care, information, communications and digital media technologies, cleantech, advanced materials and engineering, as well as innovative social purpose business.